The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-11-04
BROOKS HIGH LICENSE LAW.

To return to the Brookes High
License Law for further discussion
of its provisions.
The Act, as before noticed, has no
repeating clause, and it displaces pre-
vlous legislation on the subject of
vending liquors only SO far as its pro-
visions clesrly take the place of prior
Acts: And this notwithstanding that
the law is not supplement. but is
"An Act TO restrain and regulate the
sale of vinous and spirituous, malt or
brewed liquors, or any admixtures
thereof: :" and the first section of the
Act is as follows, to-wit;
'sSECTIoN /. BE it enacted, &c. That
it shall Be unlawful to keep or main
tain any house. room or place, hotel,
inn or tavern, where any vinous,
spirituous, malt or brewed liquors, or
any admixture thereof, are sold by re-
tail, except a license therefor shall
have been previously obtained as mere
matter provided
Under this section some Judges
hold that no restaurant or saloon can
be licensed at all others hold that the
law relating to the licensing of restau-
rants, saloons or eating-houses remain
as before. 1t is to be feared that the
Judges may construe the law, unoon-
sciously, no doubt, according to their
several individual opinions. But under
this section two things must be true :
First, q house can be licensed, room
can be licensed, place can be licensed,
and secs5.N5, the licensee can sell there
in and thereat any yinous, spirituous,
malt or brewed liquors. or any admix,
ture thereof, or any one or more OF
them as he sees fit, excluding if he
chooses vinous and spirituous liquors /,
And his house, room or place need
not have any thing but conveniences
for drinking, whereby the public is ac-
commodated. His house is the present
restaurant put the room or place is a
mere corner grocery and may be, per-
haps will be according to locality, al
together disreputable and disgraceful.
IL a statute so loosely drawn as this,
dropping a name does not seem TO drop
the thing, or if it does, drops it to
lower place. And if it should be held
that every license granted for "any
house, room or place must be for the
sale of vinous, spirituous, malt and
brewed liquors, then this act is the
worst one ever put on the statute book.
As TO limitations there are none as to
the house, there are none as to the
place, as to the room you are prohibit.
ed from selling in one wherein grocer
les are sold at wholesale or retail. But
the Act makes no distinction-you get
a license TO sell vinouss, pirituous, malt
and brewed liquors and any admixture
thereof, in "any house, room or place,
hotel, inn or tavern set out in your
petition.
But the word "place," also, is used
with equal carelessness, as other
words or designations upon which com.
ment has been made. We have seen
that by the first section man can
license and keep a place in the fourth
the "petition shall contain" "Tbe par
ticnlar place for which license is de-
sired, and also the place of birth of the
applicant, and also that the place to be
licensed is, &c." in every case, the
word being used in q different sense.
Although there qre several other
features of the law which might be
made the subject of just anlmadyersion
i forbear, except az TO one. While the
Act announces itself to he "An Act
TO restrain aud regulate the sale Of" liq-
nors, yet it is 30 constructed as to be An
Act to increase and and make popular
the sale of liquors. The whole com
munity is interested in the granting OF
licenses and in the increase of liquor
sellers, and in the multiplication oi
houses, rooms and places where liquors
are TO be sold. For in cities of the
first class four ffths of the licenses &C
20 the city and county in cities of tAs
secoLd and third class, two fifihs to the
city aud two-fiiths TO the county; il
all other cities or borougbs, three fifth,
for the use of the city or borough, and
one fifth for the county in townships
one half to the township, one fourth to
the county and in all cases the remain.
der TO the state. In tow nships it is to
90 to the keeping of the roads in good
repair aud the county treasurers are
TO appropriate to their own use com
missions on The county dividend. So
that every citizen in the county has q
bid made to him for The lowering OF
taxes and the well keeping of public
roads. These are proper objects and
appeal TO the cupidity Of everybody,
not only TO the drinker, hut to the
temperance man as well. He is equal
iy benefited, aud while liquors do not
empty his purse, licens,s tend to keep
it fuller by prov ding fund heretofore
depicting his pockt tbook.